ORLANDO, Fla. - Equality Florida's fundraising efforts for the victims' families and survivors of the Pulse Nightclub Shooting have raised over $6 million, the vast majority from a GoFundMe campaign that has drawn more than 114,000 contributors from across the world and all facets of society; as well as pledges from corporate sponsors and grassroots fundraising efforts locally and globally.

We applaud Orlando's victim service center and community partners for meeting immediate emergency needs for the victims' families and survivors. In working with our partners at the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC), we are expediting the process of fund disbursement to ensure there is no gap in the safety net for these families. We expect funds to be dispersed as quickly as eight weeks via the NCVC's National Compassion Fund.

It is imperative that all victims' families and survivors call NCVC's Victim Hotline or visit VictimConnect.org, so that victims' families and survivors have access to these critical financial resources. The NCVC will work with partners to quickly verify their identity, identify their expenses, and process disbursements. Undocumented victims' families and survivors qualify for these financial resources, and as victims of crime, are protected.

In a world where marriage equality only recently became a possibility, and domestic partnership is not widely available, it is our top priority to ensure we address the unique needs of the LGBTQ and Latino/a communities impacted from the Pulse Nightclub Shooting.

We are humbled that our efforts have been endorsed by more than 100 past victims of gun violence who know better than anyone how desperately these resources are needed.

The distribution of funds to the victims and families of mass casualty crimes, including shootings and terrorist attacks, requires the highest level of transparency, complete accountability and closely managed stages of distribution. Please visit this link for an in-depth description of our plan to do exactly that: Equality Florida Action, Inc.